Press Release

The DuPage County Clerk’s office announces that voters may now sign up to be placed on a permanent vote-by-mail list to receive a mail-in ballot for every election. Until now, voters preferring mail-in ballots had to apply one election at a time.

“Permanent vote-by-mail increases voting choices. Nothing else is taken away,” said DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek. “Voters may still vote in person on Election Day or during Early Voting. Also, voters may continue to choose a one-time-only mail ballot.”

2022 will be the first year the option for permanent vote-by-mail is available in this state, after the Illinois General Assembly passed it into law last year. Mail voting was expanded in Illinois in 2020 in response to COVID-19 so that voters could safely vote at home. 

“One-third of DuPage voters chose mail ballots in the 2020 General Election. We anticipate that mail voting will gain in popularity, even with the pandemic subsiding,” Kaczmarek added. “With new and faster equipment and procedures, our office is ready to handle the growth.”

DuPage voters preferring to sign up for permanent vote-by-mail or a single one-time-only ballot are urged to do so on the County Clerk’s Elections website: https://www.dupagecounty.gov/Election/VoteByMail/  In the next month, the County Clerk’s Office will also be mailing voters a paper application to join the permanent vote-by-mail roster.

The first batch of ballots won’t be sent out until May 19^th. Ballots may take 4-5 business days to arrive.  Voters must have their completed ballot postmarked on or before the date of the primary to have it counted. Ballots may also be dropped off at the DuPage County Clerk Elections Office, at drop boxes located at the parking lot and main entrance of the Jack T. Knuepfer Administration Building, 421 County Farm Road, Wheaton, or at a DuPage County polling site.